Firebird
by espeon16
Summary: People live and die, their lives short streaks on the tapestry of time. But phoenixes don't die, but instead are reborn from their ashes time and again, fated to live among the mortal for all eternity...or are they? KandaOC. Rewritten as 'Fireflight!
1. Entering the Black Order

This is a re-written version of the original chapter. After receiving quite a fair bit of criticism, I have changed some stuff in this story. Thanks to **hashire** and **Lathya** for pointing out all the holes in my story!

_Italics represent thoughts._

_Italics beneath a header in __**bold italics**__ represent flashbacks._

*****

_**China**__**, nine years before the DGM storyline begins**_

_The village was run-down. Located in the poorest part of China, the village was nothing special._

_So why were the Akuma here?_

_General Cross Marian sighed. At least China had nice brothels._

*****

_Several hours later, Cross Marian was pissed. This village __only had one inn with bug-infested beds, and all the pretty girls had gone to the brothels in the big cities. The only wine he could find tasted like vinegar._

_Things couldn't get any worse._

_Behind Cross Marian, the village fountain exploded. The mechanical whirring behind him was enough to tell him what it was._

_Akuma._

_Even as his hand slipped into his coat to draw out Judgment, there was a flash of black.__ Two Level Ones exploded._

_Innocence?_

_Perhaps._

_A second later, there was a desperate, high-pitched scream._

*****

_Cross Marian sighed. Damn his soft spot for women._

_The little girl he'd saved from the Akuma a few hours ago clung nervously to his robes. Straggly dark brown hair hung limp and tangled down her back._

_At least she was an Accommodator. Training her would give him something to do in this godforsaken place. _

*****

Of all places to have the Headquarters of the Dark Religious Organization, it had to be on top of a mountain. Sure, in theory, it deterred enemies. But what use was a giant castle atop a massive mountain if your enemies could _fly_, and your comrades couldn't?

The girl sighed. Shaking her long chestnut bangs out of her eyes, she placed her foot onto a rock jutting out as a foothold, beginning her ascent.

Approximately half an hour later, she crawled up onto the flat surface of the summit, semi-exhausted and rather grumpy.

Within the castle, the members of the Science Department were looking at the girl through the screens.

"Hey, who is she?"

Lenalee frowned at the screen.

"Perhaps she's an exorcist?"

*****

The grey-eyed girl walked up to the entrance.

"Anyone there?"

From behind her, she heard a faint crackling noise. Twisting around, she saw a black bat-like device hovering behind her.

_A golem._ It still looked recognizable, though nothing like her Master's golden one.

"I'm an exorcist. I was sent here by General Cross Marian," she told it.

"Turn around so that the gatekeeper can inspect you."

"Hmm?"

She whipped back around, only to be confronted by a huge ugly face. Instinctively, she reached for the hidden pockets in her sleeves, where she usually hid her daggers. Then, she remembered that her daggers were in her bag, so that they wouldn't interfere with her climbing by banging against, and potentially loosening the rock.

_Great._

"Beginning X-ray examination!"

*****

Inside the Science Labs, Allen walked up, munching a doughnut.

"What's up?"

"Don't know."

Allen peered into the screen.

"Eh? Isn't that…"

*****

"Clear!" boomed the ugly face.

As the girl watched, the huge doors opened.

She walked through the doors…

…and was immediately glomped by a white blur on a doughnut high.

"Kiara-senpai!"

"Ow…get off me, Allen-kun!"

Lenalee, who had accompanied Allen down to meet the newcomer, was lost for words as she watched the newcomer try to peel Allen off herself.

Finally managing to get Allen to let her go, the newcomer turned to Lenalee.

"Nice to meet you," she said, bowing.

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Lenalee Lee, welcome to the Black Order."

The newcomer smiled.

"My name is Akatsuki Kiara."

*****

After that, Lenalee and Allen dragged her around, giving her a tour of the Black Order. The cafeteria, the training rooms, the huge library, the bathing area.

Apparently, exorcists also got individual rooms.

Before she could so much as ask to see her new room, she was taken to meet the Supervisor, Komui Lee.

Somehow, her mental image of a Supervisor didn't quite fit this one. He had purple hair, was clutching a mug with a _pink bunny_ on it, and somehow, he seemed to radiate an aura that she associated with those from the mental institutions.

When he glomped Lenalee, his 'precious darling sister', and started proclaiming to the whole office the magnificence of his younger sister, Kiara realized how right she was in making that particular comparison.

*****

After ten minutes and several smacks on the head with a clipboard, Komui had changed to a more businesslike demeanor as he led Kiara, Allen, and Lenalee down a flight of steps, and onto a floating pyramid-shaped platform.

"Well now, let's have a look at your Innocence, shall we?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Kiara sensed something whitish rising up. Whirling around, she came face-to-face with a translucent, ghostly _thing_. Its decidedly female face gazed at her intently.

Without warning, the _thing_ shot out several tendrils, wrapping around her.

"Innocence…"she/it whispered.

"Put me down!"

She began to struggle violently.

"Don't struggle~" sang Komui from the lift platform. "It's futile! ~"

_Komui…when I get down from here, you are dead meat._

Slowly, the _thing _reached out two more tendrils, and wrapped them around her wrists, where her Innocence was.

"Calm down," she/it whispered. "I am not an enemy."

"She's right," called Allen. "Hevlaska's not your enemy!"

Kiara sighed, and tried to relax. She trusted Allen, and if he said that this…Hevlaska was safe, then she most likely was.

Hevlaska put her face to Kiara's Innocence.

"4…18…23…39…41…60…74…81%! It seems that your maximum synchronization percentage for now is 81%."

Gently releasing Kiara back onto the platform, Hevlaska bent down to Kiara's eye level.

"Akatsuki Kiara," she whispered, "Somewhere in the dark future, you will become a bird of fire that will turn the immortals to ash. This is what I have seen. This is my power."

"A bird…of fire…?"

The sound of clapping distracted her.

"Very good, very good! Hevlaska's predictions usually come true, you know!"

Kiara swung slowly around to face Komui, grinning like an idiot and clutching his clipboard.

"Komui," she growled dangerously.

A hand shot out, smashing into the clipboard he had held up to protect his face.

"Warn me about these things beforehand!"

*****

Three hours later saw Kiara standing in front of her mirror, looking at her new uniform. Fingering the durable material of her fitted jacket, a sliver of a smile flitted across her face.

_At least I got to wear shorts instead of that miniskirt…_

Kiara hated miniskirts.

As she stepped down from the stool she had been standing on so that Johnny could remove the pins and extra fabric, Lenalee turned to her.

"You were General Cross' apprentice like Allen-kun, right?"

Kiara nodded, frowning at the mention of her womanizing Master.

"How come Allen-kun came before you, then? Shouldn't the both of you have come at the same time?"

Kiara scowled.

"Stupid Master reckoned I was weaker than Allen, so he kept me back, under the pretense that I wasn't strong enough to even destroy a Level One," she muttered.

Allen shrugged.

"Master was always more protective of you," he pointed out.

"Because I'm a girl," she shot back huffily. "Master always liked the females more."

*****

The next day, Kiara made her way to the cafeteria.

It was her turn at the breakfast line.

"What would you like, sweetie?" crooned Jerry. "I can make anything!"

Kiara's eye twitched at the sight of the Indian man wearing a fluffy apron.

_Hard to believe that he's male…_

"Fried bee hoon and green tea, please." **(1)**

"Coming right up! ~"

Grabbing her tray, Kiara's eyes scanned the crowded tables, looking for somewhere to sit.

She caught sight of a tower of plates and a head of white hair. She picked her way through the throng to get to Allen's table.

"Morning," she said, poking her kouhai's head playfully. **(2) **"My, you're inhaling even more food than ever, Allen!"

Allen gave a noncommittal grunt.

"Humgwy."

Kiara raised her eyebrow questioningly.

Allen swallowed his mouthful before repeating, "Hungry."

"Ah. May I sit here?"

Lenalee, next to Allen, smiled happily.

"Of course!"

Kiara sat down opposite Allen, and began eating.

A redhead sitting opposite her stuck out his hand jovially.

"Name's Lavi! You're the new Exorcist, right?"

She nodded, shaking his outstretched hand.

"Akatsuki Kiara. Pleased to meet you. There's mustard on your nose."

Lavi frowned, and swiped his nose with a napkin, wiping off the bright yellow blob that had been there.

Lenalee giggled, Kiara smirked, and Lavi pouted.

"It's not funny!"

"Whatever."

Just as Kiara was finishing off her meal, a member of the Science Department came up to them.

"Kiara-san, Lavi-san, please report to the Supervisor's office right away. You've got a mission."

*****

(1) Bee hoon is rice vermicelli. Just that in Singapore, everybody calls it bee hoon. The Chinese call it 'mi fen' (米粉). It's quite commonly eaten for breakfast.

(2) Kouhai means junior/someone younger than you in Japanese. Like senpai means senior/someone older than you.

Please review!


	2. First Mission

**ATTENTION:** If you read the previous chapter before **10****th**** July 2009**, please go back and re-read Chapter 1. It has been rewritten. Quite a bit has been changed/added.

In case you are confused, Kiara arrives after Allen completes his first mission. He has yet to go for the second one with Lenalee.

I don't own -Man. -Man and all of its characters belong to Hoshino Katsura. I only own my OC.

_Italics represent thoughts__, or the name of an attack._

_Italics beneath a header in __**bold italics**__ represent flashbacks._

*****

Kiara stared at the sleeping Komui, drooling on his paperwork.

Lavi pushed past her, bent down to him, and whispered something.

Komui awake at once, fake tears streaming down his face.

"My darling Lenalee! How could you get married without telling you dear brother?!"

_Sister complex much?_

*****

After Komui had calmed down, he passed them their mission briefs.

"You two will be heading to Brussels, in Belgium. There seems to be an influx of Akuma in that area. A piece of Innocence may have shown up there. Further information can be found in your mission briefs."

Kiara nodded, and the two of them left Komui's office.

*****

The train slowly began to pick up speed, leaving the station behind. Kiara sat next to the window, gazing at the trees and houses as they flashed by. It was going to be a four-hour ride.

Lavi had fallen asleep in the seat opposite hers, his head leaning against the window.

She reached into her jacket and pulled out her sketchbook and mini-art set. Flipping open the cover of her sketchbook, she extracted a stick of charcoal from the small metal case, and began to draw.

*****

Time passed quickly. Just as Kiara daubed the final bits of colour onto her picture, the train pulled to a halt at the station in Brussels. Hurriedly packing up, she woke Lavi.

Waiting for them on the platform was a young Finder.

"My name is Tobias," he said, bowing. "I will be guiding both of you during your mission."

Beckoning for them to follow him, he exited the station.

*****

The first thing that hit Kiara was cold. A chilly autumn breeze blew around her, dragging tendrils of dark brown hair across her face.

Fortunately, Lavi was in front of her, blocking most of the wind out.

Tobias led them through winding streets, past various derelict shops and homes. Finally, they arrived at an inn. Night was falling, as was the temperature, and Kiara was glad to be out of the cold, in a warm room.

Tobias spoke to the innkeeper in rapid Dutch. **(1)**

Moments later, he had two keys in his hand. He passed one to Kiara.

"Lavi-dono and I will share a room. Kiara-dono will get one of her own."

The innkeeper's daughter led them up the stairs, to two rooms next to each other.

Kiara pushed open the door to her room and bid goodnight to Lavi and Tobias. Taking off her Exorcist's jacket, she drew up a chair to the window and looked at the night sky. She didn't feel like sleeping yet.

In the sky above, the stars winked and sparkled like so many diamonds strewn upon a roll of black velvet.

_So peaceful and tranquil…I wonder where the Akuma are?_

*****

Kiara was dreaming.

She saw her sensei running away from five Akuma. **(2)**

"Run, Kiara-chan!"

She turned to run, but she couldn't. Her feet refused to move.

She could see his desperate face, motioning for her to escape.

_I can't!_ She wanted to shout, but no sound came out. The Akuma were drawing closer. Their barrels moved to point at her.

They fired.

Purple flashes appeared everywhere, but none of the bullets hit her. Then she saw him.

Her sensei.

Black pentacles were spreading all over his face, and he suddenly exploded into dust.

The Akuma advanced towards her again.

And she let out a desperate, high-pitched scream…

*****

Kiara woke up screaming. Shaking, she tried to calm her racing heart down. The memory of her sensei's death had long stopped coming. Why, then, was it back?

She had loved her sensei. He'd taught her martial arts, and had given her the two daggers that she took with her everywhere. He'd raised her, taught her, named her. After his death, the memory of that night plagued her for a year.

Incidentally, that night was the night Cross had found her.

She groaned, burying her face in her knees, trying to block out the lingering horror from the nightmare.

Suddenly, through the silence of the night, she heard the sound of glass breaking. Instantly alert, she vaulted out of bed, and ran to the window.

Silhouetted against the night sky were floating balloons with spikes.

Akuma.

Grabbing her jacket from the chair where it hung, she pulled it over her long-sleeved white blouse and fumbled with the buttons.

She dashed out of the inn, only to crash into Lavi, standing at the doorway of the inn.

"Akuma," he told her.

"I know," she hissed back.

Lavi had already activated his Innocence. The giant hammer had probably taken out one or two Akuma already.

"They seem to be headed towards the town square," he said quietly, jerking his thumb behind him.

Kiara peered in the direction he had pointed. Indeed, there seemed to be a menacing black cloud blotting out the stars.

"Let's go."

They took off at a run.

*****

The town square of Brussels was its main attraction. In the middle of the square was an ornate fountain that granted wishes.

When Kiara read this in the mission brief, she had shaken it off as a belief, but now, she wasn't so sure. Akuma crowding near it could mean that the fountain was Innocence.

Arriving at the town square, they burst into action. Lavi swung his hammer in a wide arc, obliterating seven Akuma.

"Kiara-chan!" he called. "A little help here?"

She grinned.

_Innocence, activate!_

The black wristbands on her wrists obeyed her command, bursting into black flame.

"Let's go."

Blasting out orbs of black fire one after the other, Kiara destroyed five more Level Ones. She glanced up. There were still many more left. Thankfully, all were Level Ones.

She heard Lavi yell, "Gouka Kaijin!"

A giant snake of fire soared into the sky, barreling into the Akuma, destroying about half of them.

_Cross Ring!_

Slashing downwards with her right, Kiara created many black crosses, which went flying towards the Akuma. Each bound tightly to an Akuma.

Kiara narrowed her eyes.

_Detonate!_

As one, all the crosses glowed, and the Akuma exploded.

Then it was over. No more Akuma flew down to meet them.

Lavi jumped down from the rooftop he had been perched on.

"Saa, the Innocence is in the fountain, right?"

"Think so."

They began to walk towards the fountain, when Kiara heard footsteps behind her. She froze, and turned around slowly.

Standing there was the innkeeper's daughter.

Lavi relaxed.

The girl stared at them.

"What happened to the monsters?" she asked.

"Gone."

"Is that so?"

She grinned a savage grin. Kiara took a step backwards, instantly wary.

"What a pity."

Her head bent sharply to the right, and her eyes rolled. Tentacles began to sprout from all over her body.

"Then I'll kill you myself," she hissed.

Lavi groaned.

"Level Two."

*****

(1) In Belgium, they speak three different languages. French, Dutch, and…I can't remember the last one. I think it's German.

(2) Sensei means 'teacher'. Not to be confused with 'Master', which is Shishou. Both are Japanese terms.

Please review!


	3. Combination

Thank you to the few who reviewed my story!

_Italics represent thoughts, or the name of an attack._

_Italics below a header in __**bold italics**__ represent flashbacks._

Don't own nothing.

*****

"Level Two."

The grotesque monster grinned at them savagely. Just as Lavi had finished uttering those two words, it lashed out with a tentacle and grabbed him.

"Lavi-san!"

Lavi wriggled desperately.

The Level Two laughed, a chilling, cold sound.

"Wriggle all you like, little Exorcist worm! I shall fry you!"

A crackle. And then the tentacle holding Lavi was alight with sparks of Dark Matter, dancing up and down its length.

Lavi yelled out, before abruptly stopping his struggle. When the sparks disappeared, Kiara could see that he had been burned.

_Electricity. This Akuma controls electricity_.

She had to get Lavi out of the Akuma's grip. But how?

As she stood there, thinking desperately, the Akuma laughed again. Mocking her.

"What's wrong, little girl Exorcist? Frightened at the sight of my electricity cutting through your friend?"

_Cutting! That's it!_

If she could just cut the tentacle, perhaps Lavi would be released.

She closed her eyes, and concentrated.

_Cross Ring._

This time, instead of letting the many black crosses dissipate out to hit as many targets as possible, she gathered them all in her hand, combining them together. She was rewarded with a giant black cross spinning in her right palm, shaped like a throwing star.

She had only thrown daggers before. But perhaps, this worked like a dagger too.

Hoping that she was right, she aimed the giant black cross, and flung it at the Akuma. It spun through the air, a black pinwheel almost invisible in the blackness of the night. It soared in a huge arc, and sliced cleanly through the Akuma's tentacle.

Lavi fell to the ground with a _thump_. The tentacle that had been separated crumbled to dust. Quickly, she flung a few orbs of black fire at the Akuma to distract it while she got Lavi a safe distance away from the Akuma.

On the roof of a building facing the town square, she set him down, and poked him.

"Lavi-san?"

He groaned and opened his eyes.

"Aah, Kiara-chan. Man, my head hurts."

He sat up.

"So…the Akuma is still there?"

"Yes. It appears that the Akuma uses electricity-like Dark Matter to attack through its tentacles. Therefore, the best course of action is to use long-distance attack."

Lavi nodded. He frowned, appearing to be deep in thought.

"Saa…I recall hearing that Moyashi and Yuu beat up a Level Two during the Moyashi's first mission by using a combo attack…why don't we try that too?"

"Moyashi?" Kiara frowned, confused. "Yuu? Who are they?"

Lavi grinned good-naturedly. "Moyashi is little Allen-chan, 'cuz he's so short. Yuu is another Exorcist. You haven't met him yet. He's really grumpy, only likes soba, tempura, and his sword, and he hates being called by his first name, 'Yuu', which is why I do that all the time to annoy him."

Kiara frowned.

"If you don't call him by his first name, then what do you call him?"

"Hm? Oh, his surname, Kanda."

A demonic cackle from below reminded them of their situation.

"Right," said Lavi hastily. "So, as I was saying, why don't we try out a combo attack?"

*****

They leapt down from the roof, to face the Akuma once again.

"So," it drawled. "You're back again, Exorcists? Don't waste my time."

Lavi cocked his head.

"Ready, Kiara-chan?"

Kiara looked at him, and nodded.

Lavi raised his hamer.

"Gouka Kaijin!"

This time, when the monster snake appeared, Kiara closed her eyes.

_Invocate._

Black orbs swirled around the snake, twining with it and colouring it iridescent black.

The black snake lunged at the Akuma.

In unison, Lavi and Kiara yelled, "Scatter!" **(1)**

Fire collided with demon, and the Akuma exploded.

*****

Kiara walked towards the now-ruined fountain and searched among the rubble while Lavi kept watch for any more Akuma.

Brushing aside some marble fragments, Kiara picked up a glowing green crystal.

"So this is Innocence…"

*****

The next day, Lavi left for a new mission.

"All the Exorcists are being split up into teams to track down the Generals. I'm joining Team Cross. Komui said that you were to return to Headquarters first, though. Probably to return the Innocence."

She nodded. Clambering onto the train, she waved goodbye to Lavi's slowly diminishing figure on the platform.

*****

"So," said Komui.

"What?"

Kiara scowled, tapping her foot impatiently.

"You do know that the Exorcists are splitting into teams to track down the Generals, right?"

"Yes."

"Well, I was debating having you join Team Cross, but…"

Kiara swiftly cut in.

"I refuse to go find my idiot of a Master."

Komui spluttered.

"But…but…"

Kiara sighed.

"What about Team Tiedoll?"

*****

_**Germany, six years ago**_

"_Master!" wailed Kiara. "Why are you dumping me with someone else?"_

"_Because," sighed Cross Marian, "I have something important to do in Britain. I happened to bump into my colleague here, so I managed to persuade him to look after you for a year or so, seeing as he has no apprentices at present." _**(2)**

_Kiara scowled._

"_You're just trying to get rid of me, aren't you?"_

_Cross Marian didn't reply._

*****

_Kiara looked up at her new temporary 'master', and kindly-looking man with bushy hair and glasses._

_He squatted down to her eye level._

"_Kiara-chan," he rumbled. "That's your name, yes?"_

_She nodded mutely._

_He smiled at her._

"_I'm going to be taking care of you and training you for the next year or so."_

_He held out a hand to her._

"_We're going to be great friends!"_

_*****_

_Tiedoll had trained her and helped her develop her Innocence. He took her places, where she picked up a few new languages._

_His artistic influence rubbed off on her, and she learned to draw, and dance._

_She loved him like a father._

_A year later, Cross Marian came back for her, with a small white-haired boy in tow._

*****

Team Tiedoll was the perfect choice. He had been her teacher, albeit for a very short period of time, and she certainly liked him better than Cross.

"Well," stated Komui, "Team Tiedoll _is_ the team with the fewest members, excluding Team Nyne and Team Sokaro…"

He sighed, making his decision.

"Very well. You will be posted to Team Tiedoll. This afternoon, you will catch the train to Rome, Italy. General Tiedoll and his current escort will meet you there. I will inform him of your arrival."

*****

Kiara looked out the window of the train, sketchbook open on her lap. She was anxious to see her kindly ex-teacher again.

*****

"We are going to have a new member joining us," announced Tiedoll.

Kanda fervently hoped it wasn't anyone stupid like the Moyashi.

"She's an ex-student of mine. I've heard that she has just recently reached the Order."

A girl.

_Great._

_*****_

**(1)** I'm just copying what Allen and Kanda did on Allen's first mission.

**(2)** Am not sure about this.


	4. Painful Memory

Thank you for the reviews, as well as the helpful suggestions for improving my writing!

*****

Kiara stepped off the train, weary from the six-hour ride. Slinging her bag on one shoulder, she scanned the crowded platform. Soon enough, she spotted a head of bushy hair. Carefully, she squeezed her way through the crowd, until she reached her ex-master. Beside him were a bald man, and an Oriental-looking younger man with black hair, a ponytail, and a scowl plastered on his face.

"Kiara-chan! You took forever to come!"

The grumpy ponytail guy scowled.

"That's because we came here an hour early, old man."

The bald man rolled his eyes, and didn't reply.

Tiedoll smiled at her, and proceeded to introduce his two escorts, who were his disciples. The bald man was called Noise Marie, and he was blind, but had excellent hearing. The grumpy ponytail man was introduced as 'Yuu-kun', whereupon the man snapped and started yelling at Tiedoll.

_This must have been the Kanda person Lavi-kun was talking about…_

-----

They walked through Rome, intending to go as far as possible before stopping for the night. Their purpose was to locate Innocence, but their final destination was in Asia. Locating Accommodators was something they did along the way.

At least they didn't have to walk. They had found a farmer with a horse-drawn cart headed towards Florence. For a small sum, he had agreed to let them on his cart until he reached Florence. So now, they sat in a rickety wooden cart that smelled of hay and apples, looking at the scenery outside.

The journey would last several days, they were told. Kiara took out her sketchbook, placed it on her lap, and picked out a soft pencil from the art kit Tiedoll had given her for her eleventh birthday. If she had to relieve boredom for several days sitting on a bench surrounded by musty hay, she might as well start now.

-----

As promised, several days later, they had arrived in Florence without any trouble at all. Surprisingly, there were no Akuma, although a few times, Kiara thought she had caught sight of a dark shadow with golden eyes hiding in the trees.

Florence was beautiful. Once they had alighted from the cart, Kiara had perched herself on the edge of a fountain, took out her charcoal, and tried to capture the life and splendor of the town in her sketchbook. Tiedoll had gone to get rooms to stay in for the night. Marie was feeding pigeons, and Kanda was trying (unsuccessfully) to meditate.

All was peaceful. Kiara smiled to herself as the charcoal swept across the paper, shading in shadows and bringing light to the town scene on the paper. A tree, a building, two children. The charcoal depicted them all in blurred, sweeping strokes. She was putting the finishing touches onto an old lady sitting on a bench when she heard an explosion. Spinning around, she saw a small bakery on the far side of the square in flames. People were running away from it, screaming in terror.

She noticed a few dozen Level Ones rising up from the smoke. Hastily stowing away her sketchbook and art set, she glanced at Kanda. He was still meditating, with a scowl on his face.

She sighed.

"Akuma, Kanda-san."

His eyes snapped open, and he leapt to his feet, grabbing his black chokuto. **(1)**

She activated her Innocence, as did he and Marie. Glancing at him, she caught his almost-imperceptible nod.

They took off at the same time. Marie's strings sliced through some Akuma, destroying them instantly. Kanda leapt from Akuma to Akuma, slicing each with his sword, Mugen. Kiara stretched out her hands.

_Innocence._

The familiar orbs of black fire appeared, soaring through the air and hitting the Akuma. They exploded, splattering the ground below with black blood. During the brief fight, Tiedoll had come out to watch them in action. His eyes glowed with pride as he looked at his two disciples and one ex-student.

Kiara skidded to a halt. They had destroyed most of the Level Ones. Her gaze was fixed on one Akuma in particular. It wasn't shooting at them like the others were. On the contrary, it was wriggling.

"Shit," breathed Kanda, stepping back. "It's evolving."

Marie and Tiedoll stepped back as well, slowly retreating to a safe distance. Kiara, however, stood where she was, studying the Akuma as it evolved. It was fascinating, in a gruesome way.

Finally, the wriggling stopped. The Akuma had changed from its original balloon-like shape to something resembling a grasshopper. The Roman numeral for '2' was inscribed on its forehead.

"Hee hee! I've leveled up!"

It cackled. Spotting the Exorcists, it grinned even wider.

"Exorcists, eh? Perfect! Now I can test out my new abilities," it sang.

Before Kiara could do so much as move one step, a hand shot out, dragging her backwards.

"You idiot," breathed Kanda into her ear, annoyed. His hand kept a firm grip on her shoulder. "We don't even know what it does! For all we know, it could use poison or something. Do you want to die?"

Kiara flinched from the proximity of his face from hers.

"N-no…"

"Then get away, baka!"

He let go of her, and walked off, towards the direction of the inn, where Tiedoll was. Kiara blinked. For a moment, she had seen something flicker in those deep obsidian pools of his.

Something almost akin to…_concern_.

-----

That night, Kiara was walking the streets of Florence, patrolling, and on the alert for sightings of the escaped Level Two. After Kanda had stormed off, the Level Two had cackled, and disappeared. Now, they were taking turns to search for it.

Balanced on a rooftop, she gazed at the moonlight town. It was so quiet, so tranquil. At least, it _was_ quiet and tranquil until she heard a familiar mechanical grating. Turning slowly on her heel, she saw the grasshopper-like Akuma two rooftops away. Cursing fluently under her breath, she yanked out her golem as she began running from it.

The golem crackled, before the person on the other end picked up.

"What is it?"

"Kanda? Isn't this supposed to be General Tiedoll's golem?"

An exasperated sigh from the other end of the line.

"The old git fell asleep. What is it?"

"I've found the Level Two. Currently, it's chasing me."

"Where are you now?"

"It's kind of hard to tell. Just go out of the inn, jump onto a roof, and head for wherever the bright flashes of light and metallic sounds are coming from."

"Che."

-----

It was another fifteen more rooftops at least before Kanda caught up. She was leaping off the rooftop onto the square below, Innocence blazing, when he appeared by her side, sword out. The Level Two cackled.

"Backup? How pathetic. Suffer, Exorcist!"

It swung at her with its claw again. She dodged, as did Kanda. Before she could scramble up and attack, she felt herself rise up. The Akuma had grabbed her in its other claw, and was now hoisting her quite an impressive distance off the ground.

"Hmm…how should I torture you?"

Its antenna waved wildly, glowing purple, before connecting with her temple. Kiara saw a bright flash of white, engulfing her, blinding her…

*****

_A small __six-year-old girl with dull grey eyes was shivering on the pavements of France. Today was her third day without food. Incidentally, it was also the day of the lunar eclipse. Not that she cared. She was cold, hungry, miserable. All because of the pair of wristbands she had found one day._

_A pair of thick boots approached her. Looking up, she saw a kind-looking middle-aged man in a heavy cloak. His features looked Oriental, much like her Uncle. Her Aunt had married a Chinese man, and had been shunned by the family. This man looked a little like her uncle, the man who had taught her Chinese. Perhaps this man spoke Chinese too._

"_Who…who are you?" she asked in Chinese._

_He started for a moment, gazing at her, then replied in broken, heavily accented Chinese: "Am friend. Will not hurt you. You tired, hungry, cold?"_

_She nodded._

"_Come with me. I take care of you."_

_She stared at that hand he stretched out to her. Slowly, she placed her own, tiny hand into it._

_-----_

_He pointed to himself._

"_Murakawa Ken. I Japanese man. You?"_

_The girl hesitated for a moment. Though she was but six, she knew very well that she never wanted to be the person that she was anymore. Being chucked out of her home helped, as did following a stranger who could take her far away. Perhaps changing her name would help, too. So she shook her head._

_The man's eyes crinkled._

"_No name?"_

_She nodded._

"_Then I call you Kiara. Like my friend."_

"_Kiara…" she whispered. Her new identity._

_-----_

_The man was a martial artist. He was, she was told in broken Chinese, a Japanese who had grown up in China. Despite that, he usually only talked to his Japanese family or friends, and thus could not speak Chinese well. He had traveled the world, learning different forms of hand-to-hand combat, and was now returning to China._

"_Take me with you," she begged him._

_He looked down at her._

"_You want stay with me?"_

"_Yes. Let me be your disciple. Please!"_

_He gazed at her solemnly._

"_Okay."_

_-----_

_Since they were going to be together for a long while, he decided to teach her Japanese, to make communication easier. He had taught her her new surname, 'Akatsuki'. It supposedly symbolized the night when she had been found, the night of the lunar eclipse.__** (2)**_

_By the time they had reached China, she could speak Japanese, albeit brokenly._

_-----_

_His face, when the Akuma had flown out of nowhere, was one of pure terror. It matched the sickening feeling in her heart when she had seen him die right before her eyes._

_She had screamed, letting her terror course through her._

_And then her wristbands had burst into black flame._

*****

Kiara clenched her fists, as memory after painful memory flashed in front of her eyes.

_Get out of my mind, Akuma, _she screamed internally, fuelled by all the pain her memories stirred up. _Quit messing with my mind!_

Rage, hurt, pain. Those three emotions combined together, aiding her in her efforts to stop the flow of memories. Dimly, through the din of emotions, she heard herself scream one word.

"_Innocence!"_

-----

Kanda watched, as Kiara was hoisted into the air by the Level Two.

"Stupid woman…" he muttered. Not paying attention could be fatal, as she had demonstrated.

She seemed to be in pain, he noted. Her face was contorted into an expression of terror, and her fists were clenched. Suddenly, she threw back her head and screamed.

"Innocence!"

The wristbands she wore blazed. But it felt different from before. This time, her invocation was driven by her emotions. He had seen this before, when he had been assigned with the Moyashi for the Italy mission. The Moyashi had been enraged then, and his arm had morphed. Now, the atmosphere felt the same as that time.

What would her Innocence do?

-----

Kiara felt the familiar feeling of invocation. But this time, it felt different…stronger?

_Innocence,_ she pleaded. _Help me defeat this Akuma._

The flames on her wrists flickered for a second, before flaring up again, stronger than before. They engulfed her entire body, but surprisingly, Kiara felt cool. The Akuma screeched, and dropped her, its claw smoking and half-destroyed. She took advantage of the Akuma's momentary hesitation, and leaped backwards, out of reach.

She grinned, as her flames began to form a new shape in her hands. Her weapon, it seemed, had upgraded itself, and while she was still very new to it, somehow, she knew exactly how to use it. It was almost as if her Innocence was directing her. She readied her stance.

_Let's go, Innocence._

-----

Kanda saw her escape the clutches of the Akuma, and get out of range. Now, she was standing there, with her flame flickering irregularly. He felt like striding up to her and telling her that standing there like an idiot would just result in her being attacked again. But something within him told him that she wasn't just idly standing there, so he held back.

The black mass of flame had begun to take shape in her hands. It was becoming elongated, and thinner. Then Kanda blinked, as he recognized the shape.

It was a katana. A slim, black katana.

-----

She had used a katana once before, and she was glad to feel the familiar weight again. Grasping it firmly, she lunged at the Akuma, slicing, dodging, feinting, stabbing. When they finally leapt apart again, the Akuma had lost its burnt claw, both antennae, and a few legs.

"Die," growled the Akuma. "You little piece of trash!"

It swung its remaining claw at her, loosing a huge wave of Dark Matter. Kiara watched it come towards her. She turned to run, but her feet wouldn't move. Closing her eyes, and braced herself for the pain.

It never came.

Gingerly, she opened her eyes a small crack, and saw a ponytail. Kanda had leapt in front of her and blocked the blow with Mugen. She got up slowly, taking up her stance behind him.

"Thanks, Kanda-san."

He scowled.

"Che. I saved your life once. Don't make me do it again."

She smiled faintly. "Got it."

_Well, I'd better not get too close to it, now that it's enraged. I should fight long-distance._

As she thought this, the katana in her hand began to shrink. She stared dumbly at it, as it morphed into something more compact, that fitted easily in the curve of her palm. It was a gun, rather like Cross' Judgment.

_Oh, well. I guess this can fight the Akuma just as well._

As if reading her mind, Kanda activated his Innocence.

"Kaichuu: Ichigen!"

As the white insects flew out of his blade, Kiara raised her gun, and started firing rapidly. White and black impacted at the same time, and the Akuma exploded. Kiara sighed wearily. They had done it. The Akuma was gone.

*****

Two months later, they had reached Japan. In those two months, Kiara had mastered her upgraded Innocence. They had also managed to shake off the Noah who was tailing them, although they all knew that it was temporary.

Now, they were on a hill, gazing at Edo.

"Marie," asked Tiedoll quietly. "What do you hear?"

Marie closed his eyes.

"Among the mechanical screeches of the Akuma, I can faintly hear Lenalee…Lavi…and the voices of the rest of Team Cross."

Tiedoll smiled.

"Okay. Go to them."

*****

Please review!

**(1)** A chokuto is a kind of Japanese sword. Not to be confused with katana, which is a slightly curved blade like the ones in Bleach.

**(2)** 'Akatsuki' literally means 'red moon'. 'Aka' is red, 'tsuki' is moon. In this case, it refers to the night of the lunar eclipse, when the moon was red.


	5. Breaking into the Ark

Meh. I am ill, and stuck at home, so I took the chance to update. Though I'm really sad…only two reviews… (hides in a lonely corner and cries)

Ah, well. Hopefully, I'll get more reviews soon!

I rushed the big fight in Edo a little. I hope you don't mind.

Also, I've posted Kiara's profile on my profile. (That sounded weird) Please go see it, and suggest any more information about her that you want to know!

*****

Kiara hid in the shadows, and watched the huge fight. Kanda and Marie seemed to be coping fie, so she decided to wait, in case she got onto Kanda's bad side by jumping in. She saw Kanda blow up a roof, and engage in battle with a poodle-haired Noah.

Lavi was holding up fine, and Lenalee was being held by the Noah, but she saw no sign of Allen.

_But then again, I did receive that message that he was dead…_

She had refused to believe that her kouhai would die, but now, even her faith had failed her. Sighing wistfully, her eyes followed Kanda's every move as he fended off the Noah. Then she noticed something. One of the giant Akuma was sneaking up behind kanda, and he was too absorbed in fighting the Noah that he didn't notice it.

_Innocence, activate!_

The black flames in her hands flared up, and she jumped from rooftop to rooftop, until she reached the Akuma. The fire formed into a pair of guns, which she fired rapidly at the giant Akuma.

"Kiara-chan!" called Lavi from where he had crashed into a roof. "It's really strong! You can't defeat it!"

She ignored him. Reforming her flames into a katana, she headed for the Akuma, fully intent on slicing its head off. Unfortunately, the Akuma spotted her, and swung one of its giant limbs down, nearly crushing her. Scowling, she leapt aside. The Akuma lunged for her again, but stopped abruptly, as though trapped by something invisible. Marie's strings. Kiara grinned.

"Thanks, Marie!" she called.

Tightening her grip on the sword, she rushed forward, and sliced straight through the Akuma. It screamed angrily, and then exploded, throwing Kiara off-balance, and sending her crashing next to Lavi and Kanda.

As she pulled herself up, she saw the Earl, floating down from the sky to leer at them.

"How impertinent," he sang, "of you."

He raised his pink umbrella, and pointed it at them. A huge orb of black energy gathered, and shot towards them. What happened next was chaos, as light temporarily disappeared, courtesy of the Earls' blast. Kiara could hear sounds of destruction all around her. Anxious, she quickly formed her Innocence into a rope and attached it to Kanda, who had anchored himself with Mugen.

When the light finally returned, Edo was gone, obliterated. Kanda scowled down at her.

"You're strangling my neck, woman."

"It's Kiara!"

"Che."

Kiara retracted her Innocence-rope, as the Noah peered at them.

"Oh, I see Exorcists. Looks like they survived."

"Shut up," growled Kiara.

Kanda joined in. "As if I'd go down that easily, bastards!"

Kiara rubbed her eyes, and stood up slowly. Suddenly, she heard a ghostly voice behind her.

"_Kiara-chan…"_

Whipping around, she saw, in the distance, a glowing green crystal. Kiara frowned. That crystal gave off the distinct aura of Innocence. She quickly scanned through the Exorcists. Kanda, Marie, herself, Lavi, Miranda, an old man with strange hair who she vaguely remembered as 'Bookman', a vampire-like man with a white curl of hair sticking out…

In a flash, she realized who was missing. Lenalee.

_So Lenalee is within that crystal of Innocence, perhaps?_

Before she could ask Lavi about it, she heard Marie yell, "Kanda! Watch out!"

She leapt out of the way, as the Noah with the perm came crashing down on Kanda. A large-sized Noah, which she recognized as the one who had been tailing them, attacked Lavi. As she watched, helpless and paralyzed by shock, the Earl descended upon the Lenalee-crystal.

And then, the sky was split, and a figure swathed in white attacked the Earl.

-----

It was Allen, and he was in one piece. After a while of fighting, the Earl had disappeared, and Lenalee had come out from the crystal. Now, they were taking refuge below a bridge that had survived the wrecking, planning their next move. She sat next to the fire, poking at it, listening to Tiedoll speak with Team Cross. Sitting with his back facing her, looking out at the night sky, was Kanda.

"Hey, Kanda."

"What?"

She sighed, and leaned against his back.

"Why are you always so grumpy? It's getting on my nerves. Seriously."

"Che. Not like I care about…"

He trailed off abruptly, as Kiara gasped and scrambled up.

"Oi. What is it?"

"It's Lenalee," she whispered in horror. "She's just woken up."

"So? Nothing to get worked up about."

"She's being sucked into the ground, Kanda! That's something to be worried about!"

Grabbing his hand, she raced towards the shining hole, into which Lenalee, Allen, Lavi, the vampire-man Krory, and the sailor Chaoji had already disappeared into. krory-s hand was still visible, sinking into the black pentacle on the floor. Desperately, Kiara grabbed the hand, and tried to yank it out. Instead, she and Kanda were sucked in as well.

-----

It was a mess of colour. White, pink, blue, purple, green, and orange swirled in front of her eyes, making her dizzy. When they finally stopped, she found herself tumbling down, and landing unceremoniously on top of Krory. A split second later, Kanda came whooshing down as well, knocking all the breath out of her lungs.

"Get off me!" roared Allen from the bottom of the pile.

Grumbling, everybody got off, allowing Allen to get up without crushing Lenalee, who was underneath him.

"Where is this place?" asked Kanda.

Allen gasped. "We're in the Ark!"

Kanda and Allen then proceeded to have a stare-down. Meanwhile, Lavi had rolled Lenalee off her original spot, and had discovered a flattened pumpkin-umbrella under her. Kiara watched with mild interest as the umbrella, presumably the one the Earl had been holding in Edo, cleared its throat and began to shriek. She didn't move a finger, as she observed Kanda and Allen threaten the umbrella with their Innocence.

As she listened to the speech that the pseudo-Earl that had come out of the umbrella gave, she felt worried. Three hours. Three hours to get out of this damned place that had no exit.

The floor began to crumble, and she leapt aside, as the bit of floor she had been standing on previously was turned to debris.

"Actually," said a voice from behind her, "there is an exit."

Kiara looked at the source of the noise, and saw a stranger who looked suspiciously like the poodle-head Noah Kanda fought in Edo. Now, he was leering at Allen. Suddenly, Allen, Lavi, and Krory all yelled at the same time, pointing at him.

"Aah! Thick-lens!"

"Eh? Is that my name now?"

"Oi," growled Kanda. "That guy's radiating bloodthirst."

The man grinned.

"Hey, boy," he said to Allen. "Why are you still alive? You know, because of you, I've had to put up with everything the Earl and those midgets said to me…"

Kiara watched, with morbid fascination, as his white skin turned to ashen grey, and a row of stigmata appeared on his forehead. She felt thankful that she was hidden behind a rock, where the he couldn't see her.

_Noah…_

"You want an exit, right? I can give you one. This ship doesn't habe its own exit, but another can be made through Road's ability. So, little boy, let's bet. We'll continue our match on the train. But this time, I'll bet my 'exit' against your 'lives'."

He displayed a key in his palm.

"This is the key that will open Road's door, as well as three others."

Just as he finished that sentence, a part of a building came crashing down in front of him. Something sparkled in the air, and Kanda raised his hand. Opening his palm, he saw the key.

As the ground began to crumble again, they ran for a safer area. Kiara was rooted to the spot, trembling, as the ground around her cracked and disappeared.

"Oi!"

She looked up. Kanda was reaching out his hand, scowling.

"Take my hand. Before you fall."

She grabbed his outstretched hand, and let him drag her away, to where the others were.

They were resting on some steps, discussing the Noah's words.

Lavi sighed.

"I guess there's no other choice?"

"Che."

Kiara glanced at the key in Kanda's hand.

"Let's go."

-----

The first door was a colourful one, with rainbows and sparkly butterflies on it. Inside was the Noah that had been tailing them. Kanda had placed dibs on the Noah, even before she could do anything. She watched helplessly as Kanda unleashed Kaichuu: Ichigen on them, chasing them out.

"Kanda," she called to him, just before she stepped through the exit. "Take care, and come back in one piece!"

He didn't move, but she heard a barely audible 'Che'. She smiled faintly, and closed the door, fervently hoping that her teammate would be alright.

-----

The second door led them to a library-like room. The Noahs in this one were a pair of twins. Krory had opted to stay behind this time. So, reluctantly, they had left him there, too.

The passage after Krory's room split into two. They decided to take the right path, and began climbing up the stairs. Halfway up, they reached a landing with a lone Noah on it. As soon as all of them reached the large platform, four walls sprung up, trapping them. There was only one door, which was the exit.

"I am Owl," cackled the Noah. "I am the Noah of Paradoxes. One of you must remain to battle me. The rest may proceed."

It was the same as what they had heard the previous two times. Kiara studied the Noah. She had black hair and pants, but her shirt and shoes were white. Black paint streaked one side of her face, white paint graced the other. She looked like a maniac. A powerful maniac, but still, a maniac. Kiara took a steadying breath.

"I'll fight you."

*****

How was it? I cut short Tyki's speech. Sorry about that. I wasn't referring to the manga, just doing the speech from memory.

Please review!


	6. Noah of Paradoxes

I feel so sad…so few reviews…

Please review! Even if you think this story is trash, just tell me how I can make it better!

Also, I am looking for a willing beta-reader for this story. Said beta-reader should essentially be able to send beta-ed work back within two weeks of receiving it, and should be able to log on often. PM me if you're interested.

_Thoughts/name of attack_

_**Header for flashbacks**_

_Something else talking_

*****

Kiara watched the door close, and her friends continue up the stairs. She turned back to face the Noah, Owl.

_Innocence, activate._

At her command, her black flames sprang up around her wrists. Glancing back at Owl, she was surprised to see white energy blazing around Owl's hands. She had expected Owl to fight with purplish energy, like Dark Matter. Shrugging the nagging thought about Owl's power aside, she charged forward. But no matter how hard she tried, Owl countered each of her strikes, deflecting the orbs of black with ease.

Scowling, Kiara jumped back, and formed the flames on her hands into a gun. Aiming at Owl, she began to fire rapidly. Somewhere in the dense smoke formed by her bullets impacting, she heard a shriek. Moments later, she heard something whizzing towards her. Instinctively moving her head to the side, she sighed in relief as a huge torpedo of white energy missed her narrowly and created a huge crater in the glowing wall. As Kiara watched, the wall slowly repaired itself, until there was no more crater left.

_So, that's how they ensure that I don't escape by blasting the wall._

Owl emerged from the smoke, sporting a few bloody holes in her stomach, face, and arms. Coughing, she slid into an offensive stance, and they charged at each other. The time passed, each minute melding into the next as a flurry of black against white. Punch. Block. Feint. Kick. Dodge. Headbutt. Swipe. Duck. Forehead flick.

Finally, they broke apart, panting heavily. Owl grinned a maniacal grin as she looked at Kiara.

"Interesting…"

"What?"

"Don't you think we're destined to fight each other?" Owl's grin widened.

Kiara raised her eyebrow. "What?"

Owl sighed, and patiently tried to explain.

"In the warped vocabulary of you Exorcists, we Noah are figures of the dark, and you all are figures of the light. Am I right?"

"I guess so."

"But you, one of the light, wields the power of darkness. And I, one of the dark, possess the power of light. Isn't that like a paradox? Dark fears light. Light trumps dark. They don't go together. Yet the both of us stand in front of each other, proving this fact wrong. Almost like that Asian thing…the one with the black-and-white-fish…"

"Yin and Yang. You're saying that we're like Yin and Yang." **(1)**

"Exactly!" The grin that had been wiped off Owl's face previously when Kiara had interrupted was back. "So, I think one of us must be fated to kill the other. Don't you agree?"

Warped as Owl's logic was, Kiara did find the light-and-dark theory interesting.

_So…one of us will kill the other?_

"I'll kill you, then."

Owl cackled maniacally.

"If you can!"

-----

Allen paused at the top of the white staircase.

"Do you think Kiara-senpai will be okay?"

Lavi shrugged.

"She'll be fine, Moyashi-chan."

"Don't call me that!"

Sighing, Allen turned back around, and pushed open the door.

-----

Kiara leaned against the wall, trying to catch her breath. Blood was running freely down her right eye, which had been hit by Owl's white energy. The tendons in her left leg had been severed, hindering her movement. She glanced at her black flames. They flickered unsteadily, and were threatening to go out due to lack of energy to support the invocation.

"So," began Owl, standing on the opposite end of the room. "Ready to die yet?"

Before Kiara could say anything, Owl had loosed a bolt of white energy. It barreled towards her, aiming for her heart. Kiara was paralysed by fear. She couldn't move, her eyes glued to the approaching missile. The flames of her Innocence wavered once more, and went out as she slumped to the ground, a gaping hole in her chest.

_So this is what it's like to die…_

She had been foolish, and she knew it. She had underestimated Owl, never suspecting that Owl would have a hidden trick up her sleeve. And now, it had cost her life. Silently, she berated herself as she watched her lifeblood pour out of her. She heard bootsteps approaching, and looked up to see Owl's grinning face above her.

Black spots danced in her left eye's vision, her right eye being blinded. Her left eyelid fluttered closed, as she was consumed by a blinding white light…

*****

Kiara blinked open her eyes. She was dressed in a plain white yukata **(2)**, and she was sitting on a patch of sweet-smelling grass.

_Is this…the afterlife?_

"Where am I?" she whispered softly, not expecting an answer. So it scared her right out of her wits when she heard a soothing female voice reply to her.

_In your mind, youngling._

"Who-who are you?"

_Innocence._

Kiara started at the single word, as a figure appeared from nowhere. She was dressed in a simple black robe with long sleeves, and her black hair was done up in an elegant chignon bun. But what surprised Kiara the most was the pair of giant black wings that sprouted from her back.

"I-innocence?"

_Yes. Or, to be more specific, your Innocence._

The figure bent down to her, to look her in the eye.

_Your body was killed by the Noah. However, the attack was not strong enough to destroy your soul. Because your soul is still intact, I can tie you soul to your body, and heal it up. Essentially, you will be raised from the dead, but not as an Akuma._

Kiara blinked.

"So…you're saying that I can still be alive?"

_Yes. But only for a limited period of time. You have a prophecy to fulfill. You cannot die here. As your Innocence, I can keep you alive for some time more. But eventually, you will die. My powers allow this to be so._

Well, she did know that Innocence possessed unusual powers. But raising someone from the dead? Incredible.

"So I can fight Owl again? Without a hole in my heart?"

_Yes. And I will heal that eye for you. So, my Accommodator, do you accept my offer?"_

Kiara thought hard. She could come under serious scrutiny from the infamous Central if she was found out. And according to her Master, Central did very nasty things.

But then she thought of seeing her comrades again. To see Lenalee smile; to see Allen inhale his breakfast in five seconds flat; to see Lavi laugh, or play one of the pranks he was notorious for; to meet with Tiedoll and Marie again; to talk with the guys from the Science Department. And Kanda, the antisocial samurai who had been her companion for the last two months.

She turned to her Innocence.

"Let's do it."

_Very well. But first, I will place a tattoo on your back. When all thirteen of the red flower petals turn black, you will die. Understood?_

"Yes."

The Innocence placed a hand on Kiara's upped back, and Kiara felt a tingling pain on her back, as well as in her right eye and chest. A swirling black vortex appeared before her.

_Be strong, my Accommodator. I will always be with you._

Kiara had one last glimpse of the Innocence's face, before she was swallowed up into the vortex.

*****

Owl laughed as she kicked the body of the female Exorcist.

"What a pain," she sighed. "Such a weakling."

She began to walk towards the door. She made it halfway across the room before she was stopped forcefully. Looking down, she saw a glowing black tendril wrapped around her waist.

_Impossible! That brat is dead!_

Spinning around, she saw the Exorcist rising to her feet. The hole in her heart that had killed her was gone. The blasted Innocence was surrounding her like an aura, more intense than before.

"Shit!"

-----

Kiara watched as Owl finally realized that she was no longer dead. She was going to have to attack long-distance. Rising from the dead only restored 25% of her energy.

Owl shrieked in rage, and flung a barrage of white missiles at her. Following the whispering voice of her Innocence, she flung out her arm, and a shield of black fire appeared and deflected the blow. Stretching out her hand, she concentrated, and three black tentacles shot out, wrapping around Owl and holding her still.

Since Owl was already tired out from fighting earlier, she was easy to subdue. Kiara closed her eyes, and envisioned her chosen weapon. A ring of black swords appeared, surrounding Owl. Kiara fanned out her fingers on her outstretched arm, and in a sudden movement, clenched them tightly. The swords all converged on Owl, stabbing her and creating a sudden spurt of blood. As the swords dissipated, Kiara looked at Owl's still body. Just to be on the safe side, she snapped her fingers, and a huge blaze sprang up, devouring the body and turning it to ash.

Kiara smiled wearily. The sword attack had taken up a large portion of her remaining energy.

_Everyone…I did it…_

Her vision wavered, and she fainted on the ground, unaware of the glowing walls disappearing, nor of the staircase crumbling. And as Allen and crew fought Tyki and Road in the room above, she slid into a dreamless, welcoming sleep.

*****

**(1)** Yin and Yang are represented by a circle formed by two comma-shaped things, called _tomoe_ in Japanese. In the Jap version of this, the white _tomoe_ and the black one merge to form a perfect circle. In the Chinese version, they still form a circle, but the white _tomoe_ has a black circle in it, and vice versa for the black one. They look like fish in the Chinese version.

**(2)** A yukata is a casual garment, rather like a kimono, made of cotton. For those of you who read Bleach, the one I'm describing is like the one Rukia wore before her execution during the Soul Society Arc.

**Please review!!!!**


	7. Temporary Rest

Thanks to **Lathya**, **Shoten Shinzui**, **Luna X Lavi **and **crazy10118** for reviewing!

**Reminder:** I am accepting story requests. Go to my profile to check out more.

And DGM is back! Yeah! Though now I'll hafta wait till November for the next chapter…:(

Don't own nothing.

*****

As Allen lifted his fingers from the white piano, the last vestiges of the Ark fell into place. He had done it. He had restored the Ark, with the help of the curious glowing score that had come out of Timcanpy's mouth.

He watched from a screen in the piano room, as Lavi and Chaoji appeared. A door banged open, and Kanda stomped out, with a limp Krory on his back.

Later on, when he opened up a door using the piano, and had reunited with everyone, he felt a nagging doubt at the back of his mind.

_Where was Kiara?_

Lavi had noticed Kiara's absence as well.

"Saa, where's Kiara-chan?"

Allen shrugged, and Kanda grunted. Lavi peered at him closely.

"Ne, Yuu-chan, after you exited your room, you found Kuro-chan, right?"

Kanda nodded.

"After that, there was a fork in the path. Did you go left or right?"

"Left," Kanda replied, scowling.

Lavi smacked his forehead.

"That's it! We all went right, and left Kiara-chan behind. Maybe she fainted or something. Yuu-chan, you go get her."

"Why me?"

"Because," explained Lavi with an air of exaggerated patience, "it's all your fault that you went left and not right. Besides, me and Moyashi need to be here to make sure the General doesn't do anything bad. Chaoji's tired out, and Kuro-chan's out cold, so you're the only suitable candidate."

Kanda scowled. After a while, he made his decision.

"Che. Fine. Only because she isn't a pain in the ass like you two."

Spinning on his heel, he headed for the door he had come from.

-----

Kanda strode down the empty corridors. He turned left, right, and left again, and reached the fork in the path. He changed course, and headed up the right path, a white staircase. Halfway up, there was a white platform.

On that platform, there lay a figure in black, motionless. Upon closer inspection, Kanda realized that it was Kiara. Her uniform was burnt around her wrists and her right eye had trails of dried blood leading from it. The black wristbands in which she had manifested her Innocence were gone.

As he knelt down to pick her up, her eyes fluttered open.

"Kanda…Kanda-san…?" she whispered hoarsely.

"Yes."

She smiled a wan smile.

"Yatta **(1)**," she murmured quietly, before coughing violently. "I thought…I'd perish…along…with the Ark…"

Kanda frowned. When she'd coughed, he'd seen a few flecks of blood fly out. Coupled with the fact that her breathing was shallow and irregular, she was showing the signs of a dying person.

This revelation tugged somewhere on Kanda's heartstrings. A strange feeling uncurled in his heart. Worry.

"I'm going to carry you, alright? It's faster that way, and we'll be able to get out before you die."

As he placed her on his back and began to walk down the stairs, he heard her reply: "I won't die. I'm…more afraid of falling into a coma…and not waking up…"

Kanda sighed.

"So," she continued quietly, "you've…got to…keep me…awake…"

"How?"

"Talk."

-----

As Kanda walked down the corridors, he reluctantly played a game of 20 Questions with the nearly-unconscious Kiara.

"What's your favourite food?"

"I…like tuna onigiri…"

He raised his eyebrow.

"Where were you born?"

"France…and it's Kiara…I'd appreciate it if…you call me by my name…"

"Che."

"What…what about you?"

"I was born in China, in the Japanese refugee camp."

"R-really?" She coughed, before continuing. "My sensei…he came from a Japanese refugee camp too…"

"Which one?"

"The one…in Xiangjing…"**(2)**

"Oh. I came from the Peking refugee camp."**(3)**

"If you're French, how come you have a Japanese name?"

"I…was disowned…my sensei picked me up on the streets of France…"

Disowned. Suddenly, Kanda felt a stab of pity for this broken girl. At least he'd known the love of parents for the first five years of his life.

"Because of your Innocence?"

"Yeah…"

Up ahead, Kanda could see the faint outline of the exit.

"We're almost there."

"That's…good…"

He frowned. Her voice sounded weaker. Quickening his pace, he threw open the door, nearly hitting the face of Lavi, who had been sitting there, clearly waiting for his return.

"Yuu-chan! Is that Kiara-chan on your back?"

"Yes. Now, get out of the way, stupid rabbit. She's half-dead."

Lavi yelled for Allen to open a door to the piano room. The air crackled, and a shining rectangle appeared. Kanda, still carrying Kiara, walked through it, and found himself in a spacious room with a sofa and a piano.

"Kanda!"

Allen looked up when he heard the older exorcist's footsteps. General Cross looked up as well.

"Ah. Is that my apprentice?"

Kanda nodded.

"Is there anywhere I can put her down? She's very close to dying, or going into a coma."

Cross waved his hand at Allen, who rolled his eyes and walked over to the piano. He pressed a single key, and a second sofa, identical to the one Krory was lying on, appeared. Kanda turned, and Cross lifted Kiara off his back onto the sofa.

"Hmm…looks like she wore herself out. Weak as ever, I see."

Kiara cracked open a grey eye, and coughed.

"Idiot Master…I can hear you…"

-----

After Allen had opened the gate to Edo, they had disembarked. Everybody was sent back to Headquarters for a medical checkup. Kiara had healed surprisingly rapidly (thanks to her pact with her Innocence). In four days, she was awake, fully healed, and bored with the hospital wing. Not to mention that the hospital wing was extremely boring. Kiara found herself slipping out of the hospital wing when the matron wasn't looking, just to stroll along the corridors aimlessly.

She was returning from one such trip when she heard a ruckus in the hospital wing. Just as she was about to open the door, she heard Kanda yelling at the top of his voice, presumably at General Tiedoll. Peeking in, she tapped the General's shoulder.

"General? I need to speak to Kanda for a minute."

"Kiara-chan! They told me you were out cold! Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I'm _fine_. Just a minute."

Kanda stalked past the General, and dragged her out, slamming the door shut.

"What?"

She looked at her feet nervously.

"I just wanted to say…thanks for coming to look for me in the Ark. And for putting up with me on the walk back."

She lifted her head, her stormy grey left eye gazing into his onyx ones.

"You saved my life…twice. So, thanks."

Dropping her gaze, she turned to go back into the hospital wing.

"You're welcome," he said, to her back.

-----

Footsteps echoed as someone walked down the metal bridge in Hevlaska's room. Hevlaska stirred, and rose up to greet her visitor.

"Akatsuki Kiara. It has been a long time since I last saw you."

"Hevlaska. I'd like you to check up on my Innocence, please."

Hevlaska bent down, and reached out tendrils for Kiara's wrists. To her surprise, Kiara was only holding out her right hand, and the black wristbands had disappeared. In their place, something silvery dangling from Kiara's wrist was radiating the aura of Innocence. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed to be a thin silver bracelet. It had a cross-shaped charm with a clear crystal embedded in its center dangling from the delicate silver chain.

"It changed form," said Hevlaska, mildly surprised.

"Yes. During the fight with the Noah, my Innocence saved my life. Since then, it's been like this. Can you see if there's anything that's changed?"

Hevlaska wrapped her tendrils around the bracelet and concentrated.

"Hmm…it appears that your synchronization rate has increased from 81% to 93%. Also, there seems to be a fragment of Innocence in your right eye. Other than that, there's nothing wrong. I doubt the Innocence in you eye will have any detrimental effects."

Kiara smiled. Her hand went to the gauze eye patch that the matron had fastened over her eye.

"That's good."

She turned, and walked out of the room, intent on returning to her own room for some peaceful sleep.

-----

Kiara gazed at her face in the mirror in her room. Slowly, she removed her eye patch. Brushing her hair out of the way, she examined her right eye. Unlike her left, which was a soft, uniform dark grey, her right was pale silver, with flecks of turquoise. Evidently, when her Innocence had healed her eye, it had made some changes.

_Hevlaska said that there's Innocence in my right eye…does that mean that the Innocence regenerated my eye, just like Allen's Innocence repaired his heart?__ If it did, then maybe this eye will have a special power._

Refastening her eye patch, she flopped onto the bed for some much-needed rest.

*****

Two weeks later, when Kiara was meditating in the training room, her golem buzzed.

"Enemy attack alert! To all Exorcists and all members, Akuma have invaded the 5th Laboratory! All Generals and Exorcists are to proceed to Gate 3 of the Ark immediately!"

_Akuma attack…in HQ?_

*****

Please review!


	8. Akuma Invasion

Thanks to **Shoten Shinzui**, **Lathya**, **crazy10118**, **Luna X Lavi**, and **anna vetra** for your reviews! They are very much appreciated.

Please continue reviewing!

Don't own.

*****

_Akuma attack…in HQ?_

Kiara scrambled to her feet, and out the door. She peeked inside the training room opposite the one she was in, to see Kanda and Lenalee grabbing their golems.

"Kiara-chan!"

Kiara nodded.

"We've got to hurry."

As they ran, Kiara fumbled with her half-buttoned, slightly battered coat. Since she had escaped from the hospital wing, she hadn't had the time to ask Johnny for a new one.

Lenalee ran towards Hevlaska's room, while she continued with Kanda straight for the area under attack.

Even from a distance away, she could hear the sounds of fighting. Explosions rocked the ground, and faintly, she could hear a raw yell of "Destroy the egg!"

She redoubled her speed, Kanda easily keeping pace beside her. Skidding to a halt outside the wrecked Science Labs, she looked in, and saw a chandelier falling on top of a sailor she vaguely remembered as Chaoji. But before she could even move, Kanda shot past her, gripping the normal katana he had taken, and sliced up the chandelier.

"Che," he muttered. "What a useless weapon."

Running to the center of attack, she saw her Master, as well as the three other Generals.

"Shishou," she said quietly, behind Cross Marian.

"Idiot apprentice," he grunted. "Why didn't you come earlier?"

"I turned my golem off because it was running low on energy."

Cross muttered something under his breath, as Allen burst into the air, carrying an unconscious Miranda. As Allen set Miranda down, his eye whirred to life. Kiara tensed.

_Akuma? By the looks of the place, I thought they'd all be destroyed._

Allen started running off, in the direction of the scientists. Kiara glanced at Cross, who nodded imperceptibly. Activating her Innocence, she took off after Allen. As she ran, her bracelet blazed up, wrapping around her right arm, across her shoulders, and down her left arm.

She reached Allen, and saw a giant sea of blood in front of him. Lying in it were Reever, Bak, and so many more.

"Allen…" one of them whispered. "It…evolved…"

And then, a winged baby appeared.

"Hehe," it sang, "I'm Level Foouuuuuur~"

-----

Kiara froze.

_Level Four?_

Allen averted his eyes from the Level Four, probably unwilling to see the tainted soul within the mechanical body.

"Kiara-senpai," he whispered. "I can sense another Akuma. Can you go fight it?"

Kiara scowled.

"You want to fight that," she indicated the Level Four, "by yourself?"

Allen smiled wanly.

"We have to help the people. The other Akuma may attack and kill more, and it could level up. And I'm a Critical now, so I'm stronger that what I used to be. Please?"

Kiara sighed.

"Okay. But where is it?"

"I have no idea. I can sense a vague impression of where it should be, but that vague area encompasses almost the entire lab."

Closing her eyes, Kiara tried to search for the Akuma's presence. As she concentrated, she felt her right eye twinge painfully. Her hand automatically reached for her eyepatch, and yanked it off. Closing only her left eye this time, she concentrated again. This time, her right vision flickered, and dimmed slightly. Among a pile of rubble on the other end of the lab, she saw a sickly purple aura.

_Dark Matter is purple._

The Akuma was there. She headed for the pile of rock, and flung an orb of black fire at it. Kanda who happened to be standing there, jumped aside.

"What are you doing, idiot?"

"Akuma."

She somersaulted onto a broken plank, as the rubble shifted, and a Level 3 burst forth.

"Hee hee," it cackled gleefully. "Not bad, Exorcist. Though I'm surprised you sensed me there."

Behind her, she heard a loud crash as Allen was sent flying into a wall. Pushing it out of her mind, she focused on her opponent. She curled her fingers, as a pair of twin black guns formed in her hands. Aiming them, she shot a rapid barrage of bullets from point-blank range. The Akuma tried to dodge them, but ended getting hit by more that 50% of the bullets. It jumped away from Kiara, too far away to shoot accurately, and landed next to a couple of half-dead scientists Its claw pierced the skull of one of them, killing him instantly, then licked the blood off its claw.

Kiara growled angrily, and lashed out at the Akuma, wrapping it in a rope of black fire. Grabbing the other end of the rope, she yanked hard, sending it flying towards her. She dodged neatly, and it crashed into the wall behind her. The rope disappeared, and the Akuma got up again.

It stretched out its hand, and pellets of Dark Matter began to pelt her. As she leapt backwards, trying to avoid them, she failed to notice the rocks that littered the ground behind her. Stumbling against one, she tripped and fell. The Akuma took that one instant, and charged at her, claws outstretched. Kiara knew it was pointless to even try and get up. She would be skewered either way. She closed her eyes, anticipating the pain.

It never came.

Opening her eyes, she saw Kanda in front of her, blocking the Akuma.

"Che," he grumbled. "How many times do I have to save your life?"

Not waiting for an answer, he began to attack the Akuma. His reflexes were good, and he was attacking ferociously, but the sword he held was not Mugen. It was only a normal katana, and it didn't do more than dent the Akuma's body.

Kiara got up, and watched with wide eyes as Kanda tried to fend off the Akuma. He was losing, and she knew it. Her fists clenched at her sides. All those times, Kanda had saved her. Now, when he was failing, she would return the favour.

As Kanda stumbled back, he felt his back collide with the wall. He saw the Akuma swinging its claw in. The katana in his hand felt like lead, and incredibly heavy to lift up. Suddenly, his vision was obscured by black, and he felt something wet splatter his face. Something wet, that smelled metallic. Blood.

Kiara stood in front of him. The Akuma's claw had pierced her instead of him, and had made a clean hole through her lung.

"Idiot," Kanda breathed. "Why did you do that?"

"You…saved my life….I'm just returning…the favour…."

Her body trembled, and crimson blood poured out of her wound, splashing the ground and staining his boots. The flames on her wrists extinguished themselves suddenly, and her body fell to the ground, motionless.

The Akuma cackled.

"I killed the Exorcist! The Exorcist is dead~"

-----

On Kiara's back, her tattoo glowed, and one of the thirteen red petals of the flower turned black.

-----

As the Akuma gloated, Kanda noticed the limp body in front of him glow a dull red for a moment. But then he blinked, and the body was dull black again.

_I must have imagined it._

Anger rose up from within, and brimmed over in his heart. This happy-go-lucky girl had become one of his nakama, just like Lavi and the rest. It hurt to see someone dying for you. It hurt even more, because she had been his nakama.

He looked at the Akuma. It had killed another scientist. Kanda cringed mentally. Akuma were all disgusting, killing others for fun. The sight of it reveling in blood disgusted him. He charged it again, trying to cut it with his katana, but to no avail. The Akuma swung a claw at him, and slammed him into a wall. He crumpled to the ground, the katana slipping out of his hands.

The Akuma advanced towards him, probably to crush his head or break his spine. But before it could do what it had been intending to do, a black rope wrapped around it, yanking it backwards.

"EH?"

Kanda blinked in surprise, as the Akuma tumbled backwards with a yell of shock. The only one he knew who had black Innocence was Kiara.

_But Kiara is dead…isn't she?_

He glanced over at the motionless pile of black that had been her body. It was glowing red again. And then, her leg moved.

Kiara was getting up, the hole in her lung rapidly closing up, Innocence blazing.

"Oi!" shrieked the Akuma. "I killed ya! Why aren't ya dead?"

She didn't reply, only flung a massive black orb at him.

"Because," she said quietly, stalking towards the Akuma, "I can't die."

*****

**A/N:** Just so nobody gets confused, I shall state the abilities of Kiara's Innocence at this point in time.

1. It can create orbs of black fire, both large and small, used for offensive purposes.

2. It can morph into either a katana (close-range) or a gun (long-distance). It can also morph into a pair of katana/guns, one per hand.

3. It can create a rope of black fire, mainly used for trapping enemies, like Clown Belt.

4. It can cause a huge black fire to spring up (wide-range). This fire only destroys Dark Matter (or Akuma) and Noahs.

**Please continue reviewing! They really make my day.**


	9. My Name Is

Thank you to **Shoten Shinzui**, **James Birdsong**, **crazy10118**, **Lathya**, **anna vetra**, and **CrossroadsofLife** for reviewing! To all my other shy readers hiding in the shadows, please review as well!

**Important!**

Anything that happens after the Level 4 attack is **purely out of my own imagination**. Got it?

Don't own.

*****

Kiara raised a hand, and the Akuma was sent flying into the wall.

"I can't die," she repeated softly. "Not yet."

Her soft whisper was lost to all ears except his.

Black energy pooling around her wrists again, she leapt at the disoriented Akuma. The next few minutes dissolved into a blur of metallic screeches and adrenaline.

Kanda pulled himself shakily to his feet, plunging the blade of his katana into the ground to steady himself. He glanced at the furious, shrieking knot that was Kiara and the Akuma. As he watched, there was a flash of purple, and Kiara was expelled from the black mass, and flew halfway across the lab, before crashing into the floor.

As the Akuma moved towards her, Kanda hurled himself at the Akuma and knocked it away as Kiara got up slowly. She glanced at him, eyes softening in gratitude.

"Thanks."

Kanda looked at her blood-streaked face, and started. Her left eye was the usual dove-grey, but her right was no longer covered by an eyepatch. Instead, it was exposed, glowing silver. To cover up his surprise, he turned away.

"Che. Hurry up and fight it, stupid. You're the one with the Innocence."

"Sure," she replied, a half-smile on her lips. As the Akuma descended upon her again, she flipped up, and landed on its head. She kicked it deftly to the side, and landed neatly behind Kanda. Blood dripped down from her glowing right eye, running down her cheek, and leaving a trail of dull brown.

Kanda slipped into an offensive stance, as two katana appeared in Kiara's hands. She tilted her head at him.

"Let's go."

-----

Kanda charged the Akuma, their impromptu plan fresh in his mind. The Akuma cackled and jumped away, but Kanda just jumped towards him and began slashing again.

"Hee hee," chuckled the Akuma, "pathetic. You can't even wound me!"

The Akuma slashed down at Kanda, who skidded backwards and felt his back collide with something hard and flat. He felt a searing pain on his back, and knew that the Akuma must have cut him deeply.

The wall.

The Level Three raised its gleaming claw, cackling maliciously. Kanda narrowed his eyes.

_Now._

From behind the Akuma, a dark figure jumped up, katana extended, and sliced off its left arm. Kiara somersaulted, and perched on a piece of rock jutting out of the ground.

"Come on," she taunted. "Is that all you can do?"

The Akuma growled in frustration.

"So that girly boy was just a decoy? You really are stupid, Exorcist, to waste your friend's life like this."

She cocked an eyebrow.

"Who said I was?"

She reformed her pair of katana into two orbs, rotating at high speed in her palms **(1)**.

"Time to end this."

She dove at the Akuma, hands outstretched. The Akuma growled, reached out its right hand, and…

…..grabbed her at the neck.

-----

Kanda blinked, stunned, as he watched Kiara struggle in the Akuma's claws. This had not been part of the plan. He moved a hand to his katana, but before he could pick it off the ground, a voice stopped him.

"Don't," Kiara choked out.

"That's right!" cackled the Akuma. "Don't come any nearer, girly boy! I'll have you watch your little girlfriend die right in front of your eyes!"

Kanda's eye twitched, partly because of the 'girlfriend' comment, and partly because of the fact that the Akuma had not heard Kiara's statement earlier. He abhorred stupid people. Akuma were no exception.

The Akuma bent its arm, moving Kiara closer to its face.

"So," it leered. "Ready to die?"

Dark Matter began to swirl around his arm. But to an observant person, Kiara's wrists would have appeared to be swathed in a black aura. Unfortunately, the Akuma was not observant.

As the Dark Matter crackled and danced up and down its arm, in preparation to rip Kiara's head off, her Innocence blazed.

"I was waiting for this moment," she hissed.

A swirling circle of black appeared at the Akuma's feet. Before it could react, the circle shot tendrils upwards, causing everything within its radius to be subjected to a torrent of black flames.

Kiara took the Akuma's hesitation and twisted out of the way before the flames consumed her captor. She got up, and watched the tower of flame destroy the Akuma.

"Yatta," she murmured, so low that only Kanda could hear over the roaring of the fire. "We did it."

And as Allen, Lenalee, and Cross finished off the Level Four, the pillar of black flame exploded into nothingness, throwing Kanda and Kiara back.

Kanda landed hard against the opposite wall. Kiara came flying across a moment later, and fell on top of his already unconscious body. She watched as the last vestiges of the Akuma disappeared.

Then her vision went black.

-----

Kiara blinked awake, and found herself looking at whiteness. Groaning, she got up, and took in the surroundings.

_I'm in the hospital wing…_

She turned around to make to get out of bed, and was immediately accosted by a frantic-looking Head Nurse.

"No, no, no! On no account are you to get out of bed. You broke your left leg, I'll have you know. No more sneaking out of the hospital wing for you!"

Kiara blinked confusedly up at the Head Nurse, nothing going into her mind. Then suddenly, she remembered something. In the labs, just before she'd fainted, she had been thrown backwards. She could distinctly recall that she had landed on something softer than what she'd expected ground to feel like, though still not very soft. And there had only been one person close enough to her in the direction she had been thrown.

"Kanda-san!" she gasped. "How's he? Is he okay?"

The Head Nurse sighed.

"He suffered a concussion, and a broken arm and leg. He also lost quite a bit of blood from that wound in his back. But he's stabilized now, although still out cold."

"May I go see him?"

The Head Nurse frowned for a moment, then sighed.

"Oh, psh. Alright, but only him. No sneaking out."

Kiara smiled.

"Okay."

Carefully, she maneuvered her way towards the solitary bed in the corner of the room that was Kanda's. Plopping down on the chair next to it, she leaned her crutches against the wall. For a while, she just stared at his peaceful face in silence.

_It's a pity he scowls all the time when he's awake. He looks…kinda cute when he's sleeping._

"Ne, Kanda-san," she whispered softly. "Remember those times when you save my life? Well, I never really got to thank you, so, erm…thank you."

There was no response. She didn't expect one, seeing as he was unconscious. But it made her feel better, anyway.

-----

When his eyes opened again, he saw the white ceiling of the hospital wing. Grunting, he tried to get up, but a warm pressure on his right hand prevented him from doing so. With his free hand, he pushed himself up so that he was sitting up, and turned to look at what had kidnapped his hand.

He saw a head of dark brown hair. Kiara had fallen asleep at the side of his bed, clutching his hand and breathing lightly. Next to his headboard rested a pair of crutches.

"Oi," he growled. "Wake up."

She mumbled something incoherent, but didn't wake up.

"Hey," he growled, slightly louder this time. "Wake up!"

She moaned, and raised up her head slowly, blinking open a sleepy left eye at him. When she saw that he was awake, she yelped in surprise, and tried to leap backwards.

"OhmygodI'msosorryIdidn'tmeananyth-"

While apologizing profusely, she had forgotten that she was seated in a chair. When she tried to leap backwards, her apology was cut short, as her chair tipped dangerously backwards. Just before she crashed to the floor, he shot out her hand and grabbed her arm.

"Thanks," she said shakily.

"Che."

At that moment, she noticed that he was still grabbing on to her arm. She looked up at him, and also noticed that their faces were very close together. She felt heat creeping up her face as she tried to pull her hand away.

He felt tugging on his arm, and looked down to see that he was still holding her arm. He glanced back up, and met her eyes. Her grey left eye was open wide, a cornucopia of emotions swirling within them, right eye once again covered with a gauze eyepatch. Her cheeks were covered with a dusting of pink, which was steadily growing darker.

"A-ano…Kanda-san…could you please let go of my arm?"

"Kanda."

She blinked, confused.

"What?"

He sighed, annoyed.

"It's Kanda. Drop the formalities, it's really annoying."

"Says the person who can't even call people by their names!"

She scowled at him, and, with a surprising burst of strength, yanked her hand away, still blushing.

"Call me by my name, and I might consider being less formal with you!"

He smirked.

"Deal…Kiara."

-----

Two weeks after the attack, they had finally been released from the hospital wing. Almost instantly, she had been called to Komui's office.

"Kiara," he said genially upon her arrival in his office. "You'll be leaving on a mission with Kanda to Britain. There have been reports of mysterious deaths. Rumours say it's caused by a cursed bracelet, but we think it's Innocence, so we want you two to check it out."

Kiara nodded in understanding.

"However," Komui went on, "there's something I need you two to do. This place is a small village, often ostracized by the officers from the bigger villages when they come for routine checks. As such, they are terrified of people in uniform. So I'll need you two to go in disguise. And I have the perfect on for you."

Kiara involuntarily took a step backwards, gulping. She had a feeling that Komui was grinning sadistically on the inside.

"You two will be going under the guise of siblings."

*****

**(1)** If you read/watch _Naruto_, think the _Rasengan_.

Please review!


	10. Posing as Siblings

Sorry for taking so long to update! I was feeling uninspired for a while.

I've done a character profile of Kiara, along with some sketches. You can find the link on my profile.

Thanks to **Lathya**, **crazy10118**, **Shoten Shinzui**, **anna vetra**, **kArah**, **Skitter**, **mfinga19**, **Peter the Otaku**, **kate4394**, , **Kirorokat** and **Camm** for reviewing! I love you all!

I may not be able to update regularly for a while. Reason being after the exams, I no longer have an excuse to sneak onto the computer, so…yeah. Hopefully I can (somehow) wrangle permission from my parents to use the computer during the school holidays. (Chances of plan failure: 99.999999%.) So it will be a hiatus of sorts, because I will probably only be able to update on weekends. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Disclaimer: Don't own nothin'.

*****

"_You two will be going under the guise of siblings."_

Kiara was the first to recover from shock, and stood up, scraping the chair back.

"You realize," she ground out slowly, "that the charade won't last very long."

Komui blinked.

"What, you mean the fact that you two quarrel a lot? Aw, siblings quarrel all the time."

"I'm not even Japanese! How can we pass off as siblings if we don't look the same nationality?"

"You both look Asian. It will do. You two will be going by Kiara's surname."

At Kanda's raised eyebrow, Kiara explained for Komui.

"You hate being called by your first name, ne? If we use your surname, I'll have to use your first name. Or come up with a different first name, which will be forgotten soon anyway."

"…Che. Whatever. Gimme the mission specs."

-----

A day later, Akatsuki Kiara and Akatsuki Kanda sat in a train carriage headed for London. Kiara stared absently out the window, her hand moving on its own, sketching out a picture on her sketchbook. Eventually, sighing, she snapped her gaze away from the window and looked at what her pencil had created on the paper.

Kanda watched in mild amusement as the girl opposite him glanced down at her sketchbook, before her cheeks turned rose pink. Her gaze flicked up to him for one second, then back to the sketchbook, before she slammed it shut and stowed it away, still blushing.

"What happened?" he asked, smirking.

"Nothing," she replied, scowling at him.

"Really?" he asked, eyebrows raised, a taunting light in his eyes.

"Sh-shut up!"

"What's this? I thought the younger sibling is supposed to have some measure of respect for the older one?"

Kiara glared venomously at him. She whacked him soundly on the head with her sketchbook, before folding her arms and looking out the window, choosing to ignore him for the rest of the train ride. Kanda closed his eyes and leaned back on the seat. The playful banter had stirred up something forgotten. A forgotten experience.

As much as he refused to admit it, teasing Kiara had been…_fun_.

-----

It was when the innkeeper took her and Kanda to their room, that she realized the full implications of their disguise as siblings. They didn't just have to act very close.

They had to share a _room_.

"You have got to be _kidding_ me," breathed Kiara. "There's only one bed!"

Kanda smirked at her obvious discomfort.

"Siblings, remember? _Baka_."

"_Teme_," she huffed in reply. "I'll sleep on the sofa."

She tossed her suitcase unceremoniously onto the sofa, and stalked out the door, heading downstairs to meet the Finder. He had registered earlier than them, and had gotten a separate room. Of course, she could have asked that he switch with her, and give her a room of her own, but her mission partner was Kanda, after all. She was one of the lucky few who could put up with him. No Finder deserved such a fate.

With that in mind, she entered the first floor, scanning the room for a man in a beige coat. She spotted him, and quickly headed towards him.

"My name is Matthias," said the Finder. "Greetings, Exorcist-dono. But where is your partner?"

"Here," grumbled Kanda, reaching the duo.

Matthias nodded, and began to explain their solution.

-----

_It had started a month ago.__ When the mayor's daughter had received her inheritance, a beautiful silver bracelet, an heirloom in her family. The girl's maid had said that the moment the bracelet was slipped onto the girl's wrist, it glowed green. The next day, the mayor and his family became piles of ash. The bracelet was all that was left. That, and a few servants who had been spared. _

_The bracelet was sent to the girl's relatives, but the next day, they, too, were nothing but ash. Since then, the bracelet had passed from relative to relative, all with the same results. Now, half the village was gone._

-----

Nothing unusual had been sighted so far that day. Kanda, Kiara, and Matthias the Finder were finishing their dinner, when a scream interrupted them. Dashing to the window, Kiara saw a young woman standing at her open doorway across the street, staring at the package on her step with horror.

"Oh, my," breathed the innkeeper's wife, hand over her mouth. "It's the bracelet. She's been given the cursed bracelet!"

Kiara took in her words without comprehending them, staring instead at the black shadow that she had seen slip behind the house across the street and disappear into the darkness.

_Did that shadow place the bracelet there?_

Kanda sighed.

"Oi. Go to bed, Kiara."

She shook her head mutely.

"Something's bugging me. There's something fishy about this bracelet scheme."

"You still need to sleep."

Without waiting to hear her reply, he grabbed the back of her Exorcist coat and began yanking the stumbling girl back to their room. She sputtered indignantly and tore herself free from his grasp, before dashing to the room and shutting the door. By the time he entered, her Exorcist coat had been flung onto the sofa, and the toilet door was locked.

Ten minutes later, Kiara emerged, clad in a white long-sleeved blouse and shorts. She shot a resentful glare at him, still grumpy about being dragged by the collar, and headed to the window.

-----

Midnight. It was _midnight_ and her silhouette was still at the window, outlined by moonlight. If he'd bothered to look closely he would have seen a worried frown on her face as she scanned the street repeatedly. But Kanda was half-asleep, and he only saw the bright patch of silver light on the floor that kept distracting him from sleep. The silver light and the unmoving shadow cast on it.

He must have fallen asleep then, because the next thing he knew, he was blinking open his eyes, woken by the blast of cold wind that swept through the room when Kiara opened the window.

"What are you doing?" he asked groggily. She shot him a scathing look.

"Akuma, _baka_."

He got up, more alert than before.

"I don't hear them."

"They've erected a barrier around themselves. Around the house of the woman who got the bracelet," she said, pulling on her Exorcist coat.

Kanda sighed, and grabbed Mugen, before leaping out of the open window after her. Sure enough, there was an eerily purple barrier surrounding the house opposite the street. Inside it were three or four Akuma. One of them must have had the power to create barriers.

Kiara landed just outside the barrier. Back turned to Kanda, she examined the barrier for a while, head cocked to one side. Finally, her hand reached up to her face, and back down again, before she activated her Innocence.

"Once I break the barrier," she said without turning, "I want you to get in there and start beating them up, okay? I may not be able to fight that much, because I need a great deal of energy to break the barrier."

"Hn."

Kiara took his grunt as assent, and walked up to the glowing purple wall. She held her hands out, and tendrils of black fire appeared, wrapping around her until she was bathed in its unearthly light. Then, with sudden force, she planted her glowing palms onto the barrier, which crackled and fizzled under her touch. Slowly, bolts of black began spreading across the half-dome barrier, dancing across its surface like so many lightning bolts.

_Crack._

A glowing white crack appeared on the barrier, right beneath her hands. Then another appeared. And another. Gradually, they branched out, creating a delicate spiderweb of white cracks, contrasting with the purple dome and the black energy trying to destroy it. With a final, resolute _crack_, the dome exploded, sending purple shards flying in all directions.

Kanda dodged the flying shrapnel, and ran towards the now-exposed Akuma, Mugen in hand. Activating the Second Illusion, he sliced through five Level Ones and headed for a Level Two. Behind him, Kiara, thrown violently backwards by the explosion, picked herself up and began to run, wobbling, towards the house.

Slipping past the Akuma, she ran into the house, only to find the woman gone. All that remained in the house was her furniture, and a small pile of ash sitting in the middle of the floor. And on top of the ash pile was a small, open wooden box. Nestled inside it was a gold bracelet with an emerald charm.

Kiara's right eye twinged painfully, and she lifted up her eyepatch. Now, she could see a faint green aura coming from the bracelet, which she took to be the glow of Innocence. Smiling slightly, she pocketed the bracelet, and headed out to help Kanda.

She skidded to a halt right outside the house, ready to activate her Innocence, just in time to see Kanda fall from the head of the very tall Level Three.

Time seemed to slow down in that time it took for him to tumble down from his altitude, to land on the hard, unforgiving ground. There was a loud _crack_. Then, when he tried to stand up, he trembled violently, before he collapsed to the ground, and lay there, unmoving.

Kiara screamed.

*****

Sorry for the lame ending there…Next chapter (a long time away), I am planning more KandaxKiara fluff. (Or at least, my pathetic excuse for fluff.)

Anyways, please review! Your reviews make me happy. ^^

~espeon16


	11. Author's Note

**A/N:** This chapter is not an official update. Sorry if I made you think it was. But I **really** need your opinion before I can continue.

The basic problem is this: I have already planned out Kiara's final Innocence. However, I can't decide how to introduce it. It's either:

**1:** Let Kiara break Critical Point (which will most probably happen next chapter),

**OR**

**2:** Just make her Innocence evolve _yet again_, which may be a little strange, since, upon reviewing, I have noticed that she seems to be just evolvng and evolving.

Option **1** will allow Kiara to keep her original Innocence abilities, but the downside is that she could go into God-mode. Option **2** replaces her original Innocence abilities with the new ones, but the result might end up making her seem more pathetic than before.

What do you think? Please tell me your views, either through review or PM. The faster you vote, the more votes I get, the faster I will update. So please vote! Thank you.

~**espeon16**


	12. To Grow in Strength

Sorry for the long wait. Life, writer's block, homework, and a Maths course got in the way. Then after that, my stupid computer _crashed_, but now, finally, I got a new one. So yay!

Thanks to those who reviewed for Chapter 10: **Artemis615, crazy10118, Hitokiri Shinzui, Lathya, , kate4394, anna vetra, Luna X Lavi, mfinga19, **and **XxXAxhanXxX.**

Thanks to those who responded to my poll: **Hitokiri Shinzui, Luna X Lavi, Totally CRAZY and Hyper, crazy10118, kiera666, FireyFlames, , Kirorokat, anna vetra, Lathya, Skitter, Artemis615, mfinga19, Saku-chan0 and Satou Kimura.**

I'm going with option 1, since majority of the readers voted for that. However, some of you raised your worries about Kiara evolving too fast. I've taken that into mind, and so while Kiara_ will_ break Critical Point eventually, she won't in this chapter. I've already planned the basic idea of when she does, though.

_Thoughts/flashbacks/words in a foreign language/name of attack_

_**Header for flashbacks**_

_Something else talking_

Don't own -Man.

*****

_She skidded to a halt right outside the house, ready to activate her Innocence, just in time to see Kanda fall from the head of the very tall Level Three._

_Time seemed to slow down in that time it took for him to tumble down from his altitude, to land on the hard, unforgiving ground. There was a loud crack. Then, when he tried to stand up, he trembled violently, before he collapsed to the ground, and lay there, unmoving._

_Kiara screamed._

-----

The Level Three leered at her. Stepping over the still body of her comrade, it approached her.

She stared at the looming face, for a moment too terrified to move. Then the Akuma cackled, and reached out a claw crackling with purple energy.

_Invocate._

A quiet voice spoke out from the recesses of her mind. Surprised, Kiara watched as her flames seemed to move by themselves, swirling angrily in a black tempest, before striking the Akuma hard.

_Do not let fear overcome you, youngling._

In her mind's eye, Kiara saw the familiar figure of the Innocence-form she had only seen once before. Her long black hair was loose, swaying slightly in an imaginary wind. Her black wings were folded neatly against her back. The sleeves of her black _furisode_ **(1) **stirred as she crossed her arms, ice-blue eyes frowning in reprimand.

"_Innocence!"_ she pleaded. _"Lend me strength, so that I can get the both of us out here safely!"_

The Innocence looked at her sternly.

_You already have much power, my Accommodator.__ You just need to know how to fully utilize it. With the amount of power you already have, you should be able to deal with these Akuma._

"_But I don't know how!"_ she protested, desperate. _"Please! Just this once!"_

Chips of ice-blue narrowed as the Innocence frowned.

…_Alright. But only this once. Until you prove yourself worthy of my full power, you will not plead with me to give you more power before you are ready for it._

Kiara bit her lip.

"_Okay."_

Carefully bending down and moving Kanda to the side where he wouldn't get stepped upon, Kiara readied herself as the Level Three got back up.

_Do not move. I will take over from here._

She watched, fascinated, as her flames wrapped around her limbs, controlling them. She should felt strange at the sensation of her body moving by itself, but she instead felt confidence wash over her.

"Let's roll."

*****

Five days later found Kiara sitting up in the hospital wing of the Black Order. After she and the Innocence had destroyed the remaining Akuma, she had dragged Kanda back to the inn, when she managed to mumble a reassurance to the frightened Finder before passing out.

Now she was fully healed, and was nodding her head blankly, letting the matron's tirade wash over her.

"…And please take care of yourself! You Exorcists always work yourselves too hard."

Kiara smiled wanly, and nodded, glad to hear the matron's speech end. Swinging her legs out of bed, she jammed her feet into her boots and grabbed her jacket.

As she walked down the corridors to her room, she pondered her recent conversation with her Innocence. She had vowed to become stronger, but how? Training alone would not produce much fruit.

She passed the training rooms, and heard loud noises coming from one of them. Judging by the metallic sounds, it was most probably Kanda, training by herself. An idea struck her.

_What if I ask Kanda…?_

She squashed the thought. Kanda was not renowned for patience, something crucial for training others. Still, she hung around at the closed training room, considering this new idea. Finally, she made her decision.

Taking a deep breath, she opened the door.

-----

"I won't go easy on you, you know that?"

"Yes, I know. But please!"

Kanda tilted his head to the side, considering her request.

"…tch. Fine. I expect you to be here and warmed up by 6 am, so we can begin. Annoy me and I won't train you anymore. Got it?"

Kiara smiled.

"Yes! Thank you, Kanda!"

She turned, and headed out the door.

_I can't believe he actually agreed__…_

-----

Early next morning, Kiara pushed open the door to the training room, to see Kanda standing there with his trademark scowl.

"Catch."

He tossed something at her, and as a reflex, her arm shot out and caught it. It was a _bokuto_, a bamboo practice sword. She glanced at Kanda, confused.

"What's this for?"

"Your Innocence transforms into a sword, right? The way you wield it is completely wrong. You are using it like a knife, stabbing forward."

"That's because I was only trained to use knives!" Kiara sputtered.

"Exactly. Which is why you need to learn how to use a sword."

Without any further warning, he charged at her, and hit her side. She toppled over, her side stinging. Kanda stood above her, scowling.

"Get up and try again."

It was going to be a long day.

-----

When dinner came, Kiara dragged her bruised and battered body down to the cafeteria to eat. She took her tray and limped over to the table where Lavi and Allen sat, plonking her tray down.

Allen blinked in surprise.

"Kiara-senpai! I didn't see you the whole day! Why are you covered in bruises?"

"Training," she groaned, picking at her rice listlessly.

Lavi raised an eyebrow. "Training? By yourself? You can get bruises like that?"

"No. With Kanda."

"Ah," Lavi patted her back sympathetically. "No wonder. But why Yuu-chan?"

Reaching for her soup, Kiara drank a mouthful before replying. "I want to get stronger, and Kanda's the strongest fighter I know. Training with him will help me improve quickly."

Lavi nodded. "But he's not helping you with your Innocence, is he?"

"No," Kiara shook her head. "He's teaching me how to use a sword, so I can use my Innocence-katana properly."

"Then how about we train you?"

Kiara looked at Lavi, startled.

"Who's 'we'?"

"Me and Moyashi-chan, of course!" Lavi grinned, slinging an arm over Allen's shoulder.

"Don't call me that!"

Lavi ignored Allen's protest, muffled through a mouthful of dango.

"And maybe Lenalee could train you as well. Moyashi-chan for close-range attacking, myself for long-range and wide-range attacks, and Lenalee for attacks from above. What do you think?"

Kiara considered this.

"Well, my training with Kanda ends after lunch from tomorrow onwards, because Kanda says that he wants time to train on his own. So how about after lunch every day?"

Lavi grinned, giving her a thumbs-up.

"All right! We start tomorrow! We'll meet you in training room 4, after I convince Lenalee to help us, okay?"

"Sure."

The next few months after that passed in a blur of training and missions, nothing particularly interesting. She could _finally_ hold her own against Kanda, albeit for a maximum of two minutes. But at least she could actually _use_ the sword.

Lavi, Allen, and Lenalee took turns to help her with her Innocence, taking over each other's time slots when someone was on a mission. Their sessions were no longer training sessions, but just regular spars.

So it was one morning, three months after Kiara had gotten Kanda to agree to train her, when a golem with a request to report to Komui's office arrived in her room.

And with that mission would come a single event that would change her life.

_Preview of next chapter:_

"_You five will be going to France on an extremely important mission."_

"YOU!" The woman screeched, pointing at her. "You FREAK, you dare to return here?!"

"_Shut up!"_

"What are you going to do, little girl? All your comrades are unable to help you. You'll die right here~"

"You are finally ready, youngling. Are you prepared for this?"

~ Stay tuned for the next chapter of Firebird! ~

**A/N:** I am _so_ dreadfully sorry for this terrible delay. I _tried_ to make a longer chapter to make up for it, but in the end it wasn't very much longer. But never mind, because my creative juices are now flowing again, so I will update soon!

Was the chapter preview thing weird? Should I continue with it or just scrap it? Please tell me, and please review!


	13. Author's Note: Starting Anew

Dear All.

I don't know how many of you have been waiting for me to update this story.

Truth is, I fell out of fandom. I've been out of it for about a year now, and so within that span of time I didn't write. But I am not abandoning this story.

Recently, I've gotten back into the fandom again, which means things are moving. Not as fast as before, but I have discovered my love for this story all over again. Looking through the previous chapters though, I realise my writing style has changed since I began on Firebird.

This time, like a phoenix rising from the ashes, I'd like to start again...anew.

I apologise for getting your hopes up with this Author's Note of mine, but the good news is that I have already finished the Prologue of the rewrite for this story. It's on my profile, and it's entitled 'Fireflight'.

The OC will be the same, but I have changed her background to make it, with luck, less dubious and more believable. This time round, I will also do my best to make her as un-MarySue as I can. The pairing will still remain as KandaOC. However, this time I'd like to have more character development and not too much focus on rushing the romantic aspect.

Thank you to all who have stuck by me since I first posted this story.

I hope to see you all again on Fireflight.

Love,

Luna. (espeon16)


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